Vehicles, such as automobiles, are subject to a variety of performance tests, durability tests, and collision tests. These various tests may be standardized by individual vehicle manufactures and/or may be standardized by government agencies. Collision tests, for example, may be standardized by, or adopted by, various government agencies. For example, standardized automobile collision testing is regulated in the United States by the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA) and is regulated in the Europe Union by the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP).
These various performance tests, durability tests, and/or collision tests may create conflicting design factors for components of the vehicle. As one example, a hood of a vehicle may be subjected to both a palm print test, in which high rigidity of the hood may be beneficial, and a pedestrian protection test, in which high flexibility of the hood may be beneficial. Specifically, the palm print test tests the ability of the hood to resist plastic deformation in an area of the hood that is grasped by a user to move the hood from an open position to a closed portion. In order to prevent permanent deformation, it is beneficial to increase the rigidity of the hood in this area.
A pedestrian protection test standardized by the Euro NCAP tests the effect on the upper leg, the lower leg, and the head of a pedestrian involved with a front end impact of the vehicle. The results of the pedestrian protection test may be improved by increasing the flexibility of the hood of the vehicle such that the hood deforms to absorb energy from the pedestrian during impact.
Since the test results of the palm print test may be improved by increasing the rigidity of the hood, and the test results of the pedestrian protection test may be improved by increasing the flexibility of the hood, these two tests create conflicting demands on the design of the hood. As such, there remains an opportunity to design a vehicle hood that addresses these conflicting demands.